Hall of Famer Paul Coffey joins Oilers coaching staff

There aren’t many people who know more about playing defence than Hall of Famer and four-time Stanley Cup champion Paul Coffey, so from that perspective adding him to the Edmonton Oilers staff seems like a common sense move.

Then again, there is a unique skill to coaching and hiring someone who’s never done it professionally will definitely raise some eyebrows among critics of what has long been referred to as an Old Boys Club in Edmonton.

But in discussing the move Sunday, GM Peter Chiarelli says this has nothing to do with where Coffey played, only how he played and what he can bring to the organization and its prospects.

“I know prior to me coming here there was talk of all the old Oilers,” Chiarelli said. “But for me this is a collaborative decision by myself and Todd (McLellan) and we’re not old Oilers.

“It’s a position I’ve been looking at for a while. He’s such an accomplished person in hockey and I really like the way he looks at the game, the intricacies of playing defence. It seemed like a really good fit. He’s going to give an additional perspective to our group. He knows his craft well. We’re excited to get him in here.”

The fact that Coffey has zero NHL coaching experience isn’t a major issue as far as McLellan and Ciarelli are concerned. Being a Hall of Fame defenceman is credential enough for them.

“When you play that many games and you’re a Hall of Famer you have coach built into you,” said McLellan. “We’re not going to be putting him on the bench, he’s not going to be changing lines. We’ll access his knowledge of the game, power play, penalty kill, what he sees. But more importantly, how (their defencemen) are applying their skill set and what he can do to change it.”

Coffey will split his time between the NHL team, the AHL affiliate and even visit prospects in college and the junior ranks. Some of what he brings will be on-ice, but a lot will consist of getting together with players away from the rink to sit down and discuss ways they can get the most out of their abilities.

“If you look at our prospects it’s heavily skewed to D,” said Chiarelli. “We have 10-12 D between 94 and 99 birth years. Three prime prospects in Bakersfield. We have a lot of D who we feel needed a little more attention.”

Coffey wants to make it clear right off the bat that he isn’t here to fix anything that is broken in the current coaching alignment, only to offer his unique perspective.

“I’m not coming in to take anybody’s job, I’m just coming in to help,” he said after practice Sunday, which he spent on the ice. “I’ll do whatever they want me to do. I’m not here to step on any toes. Sitting with Todd and his staff for a day, the knowledge is great and I’m learning a lot, it’s going to be good.”

McLellan doesn’t feel like this in an infringement on his staff or a vote of non-confidence. In fact, situations like this one are quite common in hockey.

“When I was in Detroit as an assistant coach I always called it the Harvard of hockey because of the number of professors that were around. From Steve Yzerman when he was done playing, Mark Howe, Pat Verbeek, Mr. Delvecchio, Gordie Howe.

“Those type of guys were around the locker room all the time. They would share their thoughts about the team and the game and players had access to those guys and it was valuable.

Edmonton Oilers great Paul Coffey was on the ice at Rogers Place with the Edmonton Oilers for the first time in his new role with the NHL club on January 21, 2018 in Edmonton.Shaughn Butts /
Postmedia

“We did it in San Jose with Larry Robinson and it was a tremendous experience for our coaching staff and players to have that kind of individual around with his knowledge base.

“He was a very relaxed calming influence on our team. Players got comfortable with him and used him on the ice and maybe more specifically off the ice, having lunches wth him and talking about what he sees in the game. I think Paul can bring all of that.”

So does Coffey.

“I haven’t coached at this level before,” he said. “I’ve coached a lot of young kids all the way up. It’s different but it’s still the same, it’s a game, a mental game. I know how the game is played.”

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